The Best and Worst of the 1990s
User Comments

2 April 2000

I loved your list of the best of the Nineties. My one disappointment was not seeing one of my favorites even make the top 100–Breaking The Waves. I'm not alone as it made both Ebert's and Scorcese's lists of the Top 10 of the decase–yet it didn't make your Top 100. Did you guys/gals see this film?

–JWRose

Many of us have indeed seen Breaking the Waves... but not all. Everybody who saw it gave it an above-average grade, but it missed our top 100 nonetheless. I myself thought that it was a very interesting movie with moments that are absolutely brilliant, but I found the overall product to be somewhat uneven. Extremely creative... but that doesn't by itself equate with "excellent" for me.

Thanks for e-mailing,
Carlo

17 April 2000

I'm baffled. Not by all of your choices, obviously. But by the fact that Gummo failed to squiggle its way into the top thirty [worst of the 1990s]–it is a lock for number one all-time worst piece of frog shit. A prime example of, when you're making a list such as this and you haven't seen Gummo, make a point of renting it just so it can be rightfully included. Also, though I've yet to see Safe, I read somewhere that in a recent national poll of film critics, Safe was voted best film of the decade. Strange...

–Jason Cooper

I've yet to see Safe myself, but I'm assured by the others who have seen it that it's a stinker. I didn't see Gummo either, and am not sure if the others have. That's the problem with the "Worst of" list... it's far less scientific than the "Best of" list because there are so MANY bad movies... it's a feature that's really just meant to amuse.

–Carlo

Trust me, Safe is the blandest dullest piece of enviro-friendly psycho-babble to ever crawl across the screen at an agonizingly slow 24 frames per second.

–Jeff

9 May 2000

"With the possible exception of The Son-in Law?? What the hell kind of thing is that to say? That's not an exception! That's the bending of a rule. That's forceful bending. Suffice it to say there is no exception when it comes to a Pauly Shore movie. There's not a nano-second of Pauly Shore that is funny. To paraphrase Ebert (hey, you directly quoted him): I hate him. Hate hate hate hate hate him. Especially in In the Army Now.

–Bostondodd

But.... how do you really feel?

Two of our reviewers found Son-in-Law to be watchable, and mildly amusing. Suffice it to say, nothing else by Pauly Shore meets even this low standard.

–Carlo

Mon, 22 May 2000

The Talented Mr. Ripley????????? Better than: Clerks, Forrest Gump, Dances with Wolves, Seven, The Player???????? That movie sucked. So did Eye's Wide Shut. What about Kevin Smith. He gets a token reference late in the list with Clerks. What about Mallrats, Chasing Amy, & Dogma? And while I thought Election was pretty good, who in the HELL could possibly think it was better than Saving Private Ryan? I think you guys have a cool website though, but the list has a lot of questionable selections. I was glad you had Happiness on there though.

–MATS927

Well, I enjoyed The Talented Mr. Ripley quite a bit, but some of our reviewers didn't think it rose to the level of an outstanding film. Our Best of the 1990s list is based on the averaged ratings of 6 different reviewers, which may help to explain some of the anomalies. For example, although I enjoyed it, I would agree that several of the movies you mention are better than The Talented Mr. Ripley, but not all the other reviewers would agree. I also rated Saving Private Ryan ahead of Election. On the other hand, I can't stand Kevin Smith, except for Clerks (which I rated a B), so that may explain why some of his movies dropped off. Ultimately it's a list based on 6 different subjective opinions. We put it out there to provoke thought and discussion, and because we think lists are fun. Thanks for taking the time to reply, and I hope you continue to find interesting things on our site!

–Carlo

18 September 2000

I've scanned your "Worst of The 90's" list no less than 50 times, and to my utter amazement Lost in Space is nowhere to be found. Each time I get to the bottom, I scratch my head, and figure it must be lurking in there some place (most logically between The Postman and Freejack). But alas, it's nowhere to be found. What really disturbed me is its exclusion in Dishonarable Mentions supplement. As if it's not one of the 50 worst films of the 90's! Two words: Matt LeBlanc. You people should be ashamed of yourself for allowing this obtuse piece of garbage to slide through your safety net.

Tim Daugherty

19 September 2000

Hey, I gave Lost in Space an F. Another reviewer gave it a C+, though, and half of the other AboutFilm reviewers wisely chose not to see it, so there we are. Unlike the "Best of" list, the "Worst of" is by definition not inclusive, and is even more of an inexact science to put together.

But I definitely hear you on Lost in Space!

–Carlo

15 November 2000

Not a bad attempt, but a few glaring errors.

How The Usual Suspects didn't make the top 10, let alone Top 50 films is beyond comprehension. Obviously none of your reviewers have seen Magnolia as this would be a walk up Top 20 start.

Once We Were Warriors most definitely desrved a ranking, a truly brilliant but horrific film. The Blair Witch Project should have been Top 20.

Glad to see you didn't rank In the Company of Men, an overrated piece of garbage rated by one reviewer as the best film of the decade. Well worth a look to make up your own minds.

Cheers from Down Under,
Luke

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